SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Expect meat prices to go up in coming weeks as beef from Mexico remains in short supply due to ongoing screw-worm restrictions on Mexican cattle.
Jesús Brígido Coronel, president of Mexico’s Beef Producers Association, says constraints by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have led to the Mexican cattle industry losing anywhere from $25 million to $30 million each month.
“For the industry that exports meat, there have been losses that can’t be made up by selling the beef here,” he said.
He also stated all members of the association are following rules to prevent the screwworm disease from spreading into the U.S. by trying to eradicate the parasite in Mexico.
According to Brígido Coronel, the price of meat has gone up by 20 percent due to restrictions placed on Mexican cattle limiting the number of stock being allowed across the border. He expects to prices to keep climbing making it more expensive for U.S. consumers to buy meat.
Back in November, the USDA stopped cattle imports after the parasite was found in southern Mexico.
The ban was lifted temporarily, but was reinstated due to the pest’s continued spread and northward movement.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins again suspended Mexican cattle imports to the United States due to renewed fears of New World screwworm infestation.
“I have ordered an immediate shutdown of live cattle, bison, and horse trade through the southern U.S.–Mexico border. This decisive action comes after Mexico confirmed another case of New World Screwworm in Veracruz,” Rollins said in a Wednesday evening message on X. The U.S. Agriculture Department “remains vigilant to ensure the protection of America’s livestock and food supply.”
Rollins has said she wants to see additional progress from Mexico in combatting the screwworm in Veracruz and other Mexican states.
“We are pausing the planned port reopening to further quarantine and target this deadly pest in Mexico. We must see additional progress […] in order to reopen livestock ports along the Southwest border,” she added.
Screwworms can be deadly for cattle and other animals because their larvae dig into an animal’s open sore, causing large wounds and potentially fatal infections.
The screwworms are different because their larvae attacks healthy tissue unlike other maggots that consume dead matter.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called the U.S. decision to pause Mexican livestock imports “totally exaggerated.”
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